Yesterday I throw my heart into a 2nd long run in 5 days. Actually this was a regular Sunday's long run while last Tuesday's one was to recover the missing one during the week-end.
I felt quite good, but lack of "sprinting legs" . At steady pace of 4'15" I was fine, but I inserted sections at MP pace (3'45") and I was feeling heavy legs.
Overall was a 32km/20Miles with 8Km/5M at MP pace + 2 long climbs (each 2k at 5,5% gradient) ... so not a stroll
the week has been very hammering on my legs and to say it plain .. I have now dead legs. But at least I feel confident that both distance and speed are up to the requirement and it is now time to sharpen the training.
With this run I close the 2nd phase of the training plan: "LT and endurance build up" and move in the finale phase of "specific endurance". From now on, only 2 serious workout per week, while all the other would be easy run.
It is important to have good feelings during the final phase and be fresh for each workout so that you can actually perform well during training.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
3'38" (5'52"/Mile) pace
Weather is getting "chilly" (21C in early morning) and I felt quite good, so I decided to stick to my original plan of a 10k Tempo Run, even if my conditions earlier in the week were to be classified as "deadly tired".
At the end, It was a 36'24" (3'38" pace) with an average HR of 175. The HR went over 170 only after 2k and I always lift the throttle when it was surpassing 180, so I had only few spikes at 180 in the slightly uphill section of my 3,95Km loop (the usual one around People's Hospital and Residential Area).
So everything went right on target: If you read Daniel's "Running Formula", a Tempo Run of 40min for a VDOT of 63/64 should be at that exact speed and effort ....
This week I will therefore do 3 serious workouts, but there is around a very sounding philosophy of making only 2 Big Workouts in the sharpening phase of Marathon build up. Give a look at the website www.therunzone.com I like it very much and coach Tinman is very wise in his suggestions. So probably for this week I will overdo a little but from next week, I will stick to the "2 Big Workouts" philosophy, with a Long Run (with variations) + a TempoRun/Interval/marathon pace or similar.
Another thoughts was about the Polar Rs800sd calibration ... all my pace/effort was based on hoping the Polar was well calibrated. There are several websites speaking about the calibration of the Polar footpod, but at the end of the day, even with a perfect calibration you have a 1% error, that makes around 2 sec/km at that speed (not little, I believe). Also the issue of the calibration is basically unsolvable: I used the NB RC600 lightrainer shoe this morning, and my calibration was done several months ago in fairly accurate way. But my stride perhaps is changed a little and this affect also the calibration factor. And do not forget that the calibration is also affected by the actual speed so basically you should have a array of calibration factors based on the shoe and the speed of the training ...!!! Said that, I am considering to buy a Garmin Forerunner... at least I would be 100% of the average speed and distance (even if also the Garmin has his share of weak point).
Lastly .. the name "People's Hospital" for public hospitals in China is really misleading ... because basically patients have to pay everything. There is a very limited social security system with medical insurance, but cover only local residents and also it is common for hospital asking extra-money to boost their income, plus the awful habit of local doctors to ask for bribes to take seriously care of patients.
To summarize, 4 concepts on the table today:
- Speed of Tempo Run (do you follow Jack Daniels' tables or use a HRM o go by feeling o use McMillian's website pace calculator ?)
- 2 Big Workouts concept for marathon sharpening
- Polar vs Garmin (and why Polar's watches can not have their firmware upgraded ...grrr)
- Social Security in China and Medical Care (...a little off topic)
At the end, It was a 36'24" (3'38" pace) with an average HR of 175. The HR went over 170 only after 2k and I always lift the throttle when it was surpassing 180, so I had only few spikes at 180 in the slightly uphill section of my 3,95Km loop (the usual one around People's Hospital and Residential Area).
So everything went right on target: If you read Daniel's "Running Formula", a Tempo Run of 40min for a VDOT of 63/64 should be at that exact speed and effort ....
This week I will therefore do 3 serious workouts, but there is around a very sounding philosophy of making only 2 Big Workouts in the sharpening phase of Marathon build up. Give a look at the website www.therunzone.com I like it very much and coach Tinman is very wise in his suggestions. So probably for this week I will overdo a little but from next week, I will stick to the "2 Big Workouts" philosophy, with a Long Run (with variations) + a TempoRun/Interval/marathon pace or similar.
Another thoughts was about the Polar Rs800sd calibration ... all my pace/effort was based on hoping the Polar was well calibrated. There are several websites speaking about the calibration of the Polar footpod, but at the end of the day, even with a perfect calibration you have a 1% error, that makes around 2 sec/km at that speed (not little, I believe). Also the issue of the calibration is basically unsolvable: I used the NB RC600 lightrainer shoe this morning, and my calibration was done several months ago in fairly accurate way. But my stride perhaps is changed a little and this affect also the calibration factor. And do not forget that the calibration is also affected by the actual speed so basically you should have a array of calibration factors based on the shoe and the speed of the training ...!!! Said that, I am considering to buy a Garmin Forerunner... at least I would be 100% of the average speed and distance (even if also the Garmin has his share of weak point).
Lastly .. the name "People's Hospital" for public hospitals in China is really misleading ... because basically patients have to pay everything. There is a very limited social security system with medical insurance, but cover only local residents and also it is common for hospital asking extra-money to boost their income, plus the awful habit of local doctors to ask for bribes to take seriously care of patients.
To summarize, 4 concepts on the table today:
- Speed of Tempo Run (do you follow Jack Daniels' tables or use a HRM o go by feeling o use McMillian's website pace calculator ?)
- 2 Big Workouts concept for marathon sharpening
- Polar vs Garmin (and why Polar's watches can not have their firmware upgraded ...grrr)
- Social Security in China and Medical Care (...a little off topic)
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Long Run
4.56am and I am out the door....
the purpose was a long run, but not too demanding because next Sunday I want to do another long run with MP intervals (that is a real killer training for a marathon)
I was not at my best and the Polar HRM did not help either: it was not working properly and my HR was showing 195bpm at 4'30" pace... I also got the impression that pace measuring was also troubled... so I forgot about the HRM/pace monitoring and just run on sensation, with a chilly wind from North making my usual 4k loop a bit harder.
the loop is actually 3,9 km (more or less) and my benchmark is a 16'30": less than 16'30" means going fast, more ...
So I did 16'26" - 16'16" - 16'38" - 16'45' the last lap looked much better until i stopped the lap ... strange...
than headed to the school track and did a 4k @3'50" pace but I was a bit heavy.
total for the day: 29km
Did someone have other experiences with Long Run at Mixed pace ?
the purpose was a long run, but not too demanding because next Sunday I want to do another long run with MP intervals (that is a real killer training for a marathon)
I was not at my best and the Polar HRM did not help either: it was not working properly and my HR was showing 195bpm at 4'30" pace... I also got the impression that pace measuring was also troubled... so I forgot about the HRM/pace monitoring and just run on sensation, with a chilly wind from North making my usual 4k loop a bit harder.
the loop is actually 3,9 km (more or less) and my benchmark is a 16'30": less than 16'30" means going fast, more ...
So I did 16'26" - 16'16" - 16'38" - 16'45' the last lap looked much better until i stopped the lap ... strange...
than headed to the school track and did a 4k @3'50" pace but I was a bit heavy.
total for the day: 29km
Did someone have other experiences with Long Run at Mixed pace ?
Monday, October 15, 2007
Incredible ... I won a race
this Saturday was the last race of the 5K series in Hong Kong.
I was slightly tired from the long run and little rest, but in 5K it does not make sense to have moments of fear...
Without boring the readers with a detailed report of every meter... I can summarize as follows:
- my original tactique was to stick to the leader of the series for my master category and see at the end of the race if I could outkick him and win the series (I was 2nd...)
- We started like crazy at a 3'10" pace and I felt better after 2k (warm-up)
- With 1 km to go, I was glued to Mr M and we were approaching to the race leader. I was obviously working hard, but the legs were still fresh. We eventually caught him with 500m to go.
- With probably 300m/400m to go, I made a terrific kick and no one was responding. I was not sure of the distance left (the course is very winding and narrow) so I pushed the gas until the final 5meters.
The course was 300/350meter longer than 5k, so the 17'15" time means something in the 16'10"/16'20" range. It will be forever my PB in the 5350 meters...
Since the purpose of the blog is to discuss training philosophy for competitive amateur runners, I think that we can take a good lesson:
- the key to strong performance is always a good aerobic training: aerobic base and aerobic power. This gives you the power to race 5k strong from start to end.
- it is not always necessary to train very fast to make a fast time. I kept a 3'10"/km pace (5'12"/Mile) without having made any single workout of fast intervals. Probably I never went faster than 3'20" in training (unless strides).
- A high LT means that you can keep a high cruising speed without accumulating lactate. The extra-speed needed to race a fast 5k come from anaerobic power, but ON TOP of the aerobic power
I was slightly tired from the long run and little rest, but in 5K it does not make sense to have moments of fear...
Without boring the readers with a detailed report of every meter... I can summarize as follows:
- my original tactique was to stick to the leader of the series for my master category and see at the end of the race if I could outkick him and win the series (I was 2nd...)
- We started like crazy at a 3'10" pace and I felt better after 2k (warm-up)
- With 1 km to go, I was glued to Mr M and we were approaching to the race leader. I was obviously working hard, but the legs were still fresh. We eventually caught him with 500m to go.
- With probably 300m/400m to go, I made a terrific kick and no one was responding. I was not sure of the distance left (the course is very winding and narrow) so I pushed the gas until the final 5meters.
The course was 300/350meter longer than 5k, so the 17'15" time means something in the 16'10"/16'20" range. It will be forever my PB in the 5350 meters...
Since the purpose of the blog is to discuss training philosophy for competitive amateur runners, I think that we can take a good lesson:
- the key to strong performance is always a good aerobic training: aerobic base and aerobic power. This gives you the power to race 5k strong from start to end.
- it is not always necessary to train very fast to make a fast time. I kept a 3'10"/km pace (5'12"/Mile) without having made any single workout of fast intervals. Probably I never went faster than 3'20" in training (unless strides).
- A high LT means that you can keep a high cruising speed without accumulating lactate. The extra-speed needed to race a fast 5k come from anaerobic power, but ON TOP of the aerobic power
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Long Run
this morning I got up at 4.30 (Jesus...) and head for a long run...
My maximum frustration is to read all those nice blogs where people head for the trail or forest or some park, perhaps together with a bunch of friends who act as pace-maker .....
Who on earth would accompany you in a long run consisting of 5 loops around an industrial area in Dongguan, at 5am ????????
So I resigned myself to keeping a regular pace, keeping an eye to the HRM: HR in the range 70/80% of HRmax. The laps went smooth around 16'30" each (each lap is 3,90km). I was a bit tired from lack of sleep, but still paced consistently. For the final, I headed to my usual school track, where I struggled a little to keep the targeted 3'50" pace.
Total for the day: 31km and run back by 7.10 (shall I change the blog title) ?
My maximum frustration is to read all those nice blogs where people head for the trail or forest or some park, perhaps together with a bunch of friends who act as pace-maker .....
Who on earth would accompany you in a long run consisting of 5 loops around an industrial area in Dongguan, at 5am ????????
So I resigned myself to keeping a regular pace, keeping an eye to the HRM: HR in the range 70/80% of HRmax. The laps went smooth around 16'30" each (each lap is 3,90km). I was a bit tired from lack of sleep, but still paced consistently. For the final, I headed to my usual school track, where I struggled a little to keep the targeted 3'50" pace.
Total for the day: 31km and run back by 7.10 (shall I change the blog title) ?
Monday, October 8, 2007
Thailand
just back home from a short holiday in Thailand.
since it is a running blog ...
I lost 4/5 days of training out of 8 days, so not very good.
I made some short runs over there. it was really hot and humid, even at dawn.
But it was very interesting to take those secondary roads and see the thai villages from close range. Different from Hong Kong and China, the dogs were very peaceful and did not bother about my presence.
Back to Hong Kong, I was deadly tired by the trip, but I managed to make a good track session
7 x 1000m in 3'25" recovery: 2'00" (200m jog).
Heart rate around 175/180, drop back to 120 in the recovery.
the purpose was to stimulate the upper limit of LT. I felt a little tired at the end. Probably 3'25" is my current 10k speed (this would be great...)
since it is a running blog ...
I lost 4/5 days of training out of 8 days, so not very good.
I made some short runs over there. it was really hot and humid, even at dawn.
But it was very interesting to take those secondary roads and see the thai villages from close range. Different from Hong Kong and China, the dogs were very peaceful and did not bother about my presence.
Back to Hong Kong, I was deadly tired by the trip, but I managed to make a good track session
7 x 1000m in 3'25" recovery: 2'00" (200m jog).
Heart rate around 175/180, drop back to 120 in the recovery.
the purpose was to stimulate the upper limit of LT. I felt a little tired at the end. Probably 3'25" is my current 10k speed (this would be great...)
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
New Season - New target
After a well deserved Summer break, the new season is started.
I did not post for a while because it did not make sense to write endless description of slow runs with 90F temperature and 90% humidity.
I will probably make a specific post on Summer Running in South China, but now let's focus on the new season.
I started more seriously since the beginning of September and now my eyes are towards the Fukuoka Marathon on December 2nd. It is very challenging because their cut-off time is a 2h45' pace (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) so basically I have to take the tail of the race and stay with the "sweep" car ... that would be already enough to make a PB !!
For the training, I will compress the schedule to a 12 weeks preparation because it was not sensible to start earlier. Try to make more miles (perhaps more closer to 70Miles/week rather than 60M for last race) and increase a little the intensity and duration of tempo run, etc. Also have more strides to improve the running form further.
Based on my new credo "Lydiard stykle" I avoid too stressful fast interval training and focus mainly on aerobic improvement, strength and tempo runs.
I did not post for a while because it did not make sense to write endless description of slow runs with 90F temperature and 90% humidity.
I will probably make a specific post on Summer Running in South China, but now let's focus on the new season.
I started more seriously since the beginning of September and now my eyes are towards the Fukuoka Marathon on December 2nd. It is very challenging because their cut-off time is a 2h45' pace (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) so basically I have to take the tail of the race and stay with the "sweep" car ... that would be already enough to make a PB !!
For the training, I will compress the schedule to a 12 weeks preparation because it was not sensible to start earlier. Try to make more miles (perhaps more closer to 70Miles/week rather than 60M for last race) and increase a little the intensity and duration of tempo run, etc. Also have more strides to improve the running form further.
Based on my new credo "Lydiard stykle" I avoid too stressful fast interval training and focus mainly on aerobic improvement, strength and tempo runs.
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